The Operation To Rescue American Hostages In Syria Was Much Larger Than We Realized

The failed U.S. mission to rescue a number of hostages being held
by the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria earlier this
summer
was a much larger operation than previously realized,
according to new reporting by James Gordon Meek and Lee Ferran at
ABC News.

Compared with the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad,
Pakistan, in 2011, with the main effort of Navy SEALs hitting the
target with
just two helicopters (carrying between 11 and 14 men each),
the Syria mission involved at least "several dozen" U.S. troops
with a dedicated support aircraft taking out targets from
overhead. With what we know so far, this operation was huge, and
arguably even more risky.

“This operation was a flawless operation," Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel said at a Thursday news conference of the mission,
which had only one U.S. soldier being wounded. "But the hostages
were not there."

According to ABC News, U.S. forces on the ground kicked over a
hornet's nest in Raqqah — an IS stronghold — and engaged in a
heavy battle with more than 100 militants, approximately 15 of
whom were killed in the engagement. The special ops left the
scene soon after realizing the hostages they were looking for
were not there.

"Was it a failure of intelligence? No. Intelligence doesn’t come
wrapped in a package with a bow," Hagel said. "It’s a mosaic of
many pictures, of many factors, and the enemy always has a say.
The underlying objective was to do everything we could to rescue
these hostages, knowing that their lives were in danger, clearly
in danger."

James
Foley.Nicole
Tung

James Foley, a reporter for GlobalPost who was murdered by IS
militants earlier this week, was not the only American citizen
held by the terror group whom U.S. forces were looking for. At
least
three other Americans, to include another reporter — Steven
Sotloff — are believed to be in the group's custody, bringing the
total count of foreign hostages
to about 20, according to The Guardian.

While the Pentagon declined to comment on exactly where and when
the operation took place, a social media post by a Syrian
activist seemed to reveal a commando raid in the same area the
evening of July 3, carried out by soldiers riding in "silent
helicopters" who spoke a foreign language, BuzzFeed
reported. A
Syrian news agency later reported this operation on July 6.

Black Hawk
helicopters.AP

The reference to "silent helicopters" suggests the possibility
that highly modified Black Hawk helicopters, similar to those
used in the Bin Laden raid, were used in the mission, although
the exact helicopter type was unknown. The Washington Post
reported Wednesday that special helicopters were used in
the raid and were outfitted with an "advanced suite of aircraft
survivability equipment."